[Copyright in Japan]【Cosplay rule】Why the topic now? Consider why! Is unofficial cosplay goods related?

On January 23, 2021, the news "To make cosplay copyright rule" became a hot topic.

I think it was very worrying news for cosplayers.

However, in fact, there have been times when the world has been buzzing about similar topics before.

It is called "non-pro-appeal crime of copyright infringement due to the influence of THE TPP", which has been a hot topic since around 2011.

As a result, secondary creative culture such as doujinography and cosplay may be lost? The worry spread to the world.

However, due to the efforts of the people involved, a balanced law was made in 2018 that would leave the rights right-party still guilty of the crime, such as aiming at "malicious and large-scale things" and becoming a non-pro-life crime, and being represented by secondary creations such as doujinography and cosplay, and it seemed that the issue had calmed down once.

However, as if to return to that, for some reason, the movement of "cosplay copyright rule" is coming out now.

I think that there are many people who were interested in this, including me, so I investigated and considered it.

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TPP: What is non-pro-life charges of copyright infringement?

In the previous sentence, the word "non-pro-life charges of copyright infringement due to the influence of the TPP" came out, but what is this like in the first place?

First of all, tpp, but this is a promise to make it easier to trade goods and services between fellow countries, to put it simply with the resolution of misunderstanding.

The main problem is the elimination of tariffs, but if the rules on goods and services exchanged between countries are different, it may be a hurdle to trade, so it is also included as much as possible to align these rules as much as possible.

Of course, there are aspects of products and services regarding copyrighted works such as anime, manga, and music, so the rules regarding copyrighted works will be reviewed with the TPP as an example.

One of them was "non-pro-life charges of copyright infringement".

Even if the infringed copyright holder does not sue himself, prosecutors and others will be able to move to file a trial.

Under Japanese copyright law, most copyright infringement is "criminal" (with some exceptions), so if the copyright holder does not move himself, it will not be a court case, but in fact, it seems that this is a fairly special situation from overseas.

That is why, even if it is strictly a copyright infringement, it can be said that a unique culture that is actively carried out under the "acquiescanity" of the right holder and is unique to the world is blossoming for secondary creative acts to the extent that it is not to the copyright holder's desoever.

However, with the "non-pro-life crime", secondary creative acts will be charged in a way that is not desired, and the secondary creative culture will disappear? The worry spread among the people involved.

After all, what happened to the story of "non-pro-life charges"?

In the end, the story of "non-pro-life charges" was only made a non-pro-life crime only if all the requirements of the following citations were met by the efforts of the parties concerned, and the others were maintained as pro-appeal crimes.

(The quotation is a little long, but since it is summarized in one word immediately after, if you become "U", you can pass through the quote part)

[1] The infringer has the purpose of obtaining property benefits in consideration of infringing acts or for the purpose of harming the profit that the right person is expected to obtain by selling paid works, etc. (copyrighted works, etc. provided and presented to the public for a fee by the rightr).

[2] An infringing act of public transfer or public transmission of paid works, etc. "as the original", or an infringing act of reproducing paid works, etc. for these acts

[3] "When the interest is unjustly harmed" that the right person is expected to obtain by providing or presenting paid works, etc.

As a result, for example, secondary creative activities such as doujinography in the so-called comic market are generally considered not to be non-pro-life charges in light of the requirements described in [1] to [3] above, because they do not use copyrighted works, etc. as the original, do not compete with the original in the market, and do not unfairly harm the interests of the right-party. The act of selling pirated copies of manga and novels for sale, and the act of delivering pirated copies of movies online, etc., are considered to be non-pro-life crimes.

Agency for Cultural Affairs: Act on The Development of Related Laws accompanying the Conclusion of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (Act No. 108 of 2016) and the Act on Partial Revision of the Act on The Development of Related Laws Accompanying the Conclusion of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (Act No. 70 of 2018)

In a single way, "Secondary creation is a pro-life crime, and pirated content is a non-pro-life crime."

I think it is a balanced revision of the Fine Play Law, which has been a problem since that time, such as manga village, "tough on piracy" and "continue to be gentle for secondary creations".

However, this is a story that has nothing to do with the revision of the law, but in the first place, secondary creation is often a copyright infringement act to put it strictly, and since it is a culture that consists of the "tacit consent" of the right person and the secondary creator, let me add that "criminality = not infringement" is a mistake.

Remaining issues: Unofficial cosplay goods issue!

Then, I think that there is a problem of "unofficial cosplay goods" as one of the reasons why the topic of "cosplay ruleization" is now in the news.

In the case of the previous revision of the law, the requirement "remain the original" was included, so the manga etc. that are being passed on pirated sites such as Manga Village are "the original itself", so it is the scope of non-pro-life charges,

Since "unofficial cosplay goods" etc. are not "the original itself", it will not be "as the original", and may not be within the scope of non-pro-life charges.

When unofficial cosplay goods are in full, regular manufacturers who officially get permission and sell goods in a way that returns profits to the right-hand person seem to be stupid,

Above all, goods are a valuable source of income for rights players to engage in creative activities, and since they "unfairly harm the interests of the right-goers", I think that this is a place where we would like to make it a non-pro-life charge and crack down strictly.

In part because of this, I think that the people involved continue to work to develop rules for cosplay.

How much unofficial cosplay goods are on the world…

I searched for the product lineup of the trader who put out the product of the sale on Amazon by the name of the trader for reference how much cosplay goods are on the market.

It is said that the product name "○○ wind" is usually made without permission from the right person.

Certainly, if it is something that has just been granted permission, it is not necessary to put on the "wind", so it is likely to be one of the judgment materials.

Let's go.

Hey, what the is that? It's almost all ○○ wind!

Moreover, it is sold at a fairly good price.

Certainly, I feel that it is a maz to leave it as it is.

Respect for the work and consideration that does not disturb the right-to-right's business are necessary

I don't cosplay, but I love manga and anime culture.

This kind of culture is one of the points that I think is good to be born in Japan, and I hope that this unique culture will develop.

There are many people who want to do the same, so I believe that this "cosplay rule" will be handled in a way that continues to be a secondary creative culture and cosplay culture, which is one of the soils of development.

In addition, I think that many people can support it by having "respect for the work" and "consideration that does not disturb the business of the right person" born from it.

Summary

In this article, I investigated and considered the news "To make cosplay copyright rules" in the following topics.

Japan's secondary creative culture, especially anime and manga-related, is quite special internationally, and that's why we create unique content and I think it's highly evaluated from overseas.

Cosplay is also a culture that Japan is proud of, so it is thought that a system that can be balanced will be made through the efforts of the people involved.

In addition, I think that many people can support it by having "respect for the work" and "consideration that does not disturb the business of the right person" born from it.

I hope this article will be an opportunity to arouse it.

※ The above is the survey information at the time of delivery of this article. Please note that information may change thereafter.